I tend to fall into bed at around 2 AM.  I finish working and then make a school lunch, fold a load of laundry, maybe wash some dishes and then go to bed.

So when my alarm rang at 7:30 AM today I felt bleary and maybe a little bit like I’d been tied to a horse and dragged over a dusty and rocky path.

I comforted myself by planning a post-meeting nap and then to my chagrin, I remembered that I was supposed to start working at 9 AM instead of my usual 10 AM.  That was problematic because I would be at a meeting with my daughter’s teacher at 8:30 AM.

Bummer.

Not only did I not get a nap, I had to start work an hour early.  And I have to start an hour early every day this week.  No fun.

Today I had appliance repair guys come to look at my dead dishwasher and linty clothes dryer.  First, they examined the dishwasher and declared “good news” and “bad news.”

The good news was that James, the head repairman, was able to diagnose the problem. Yay!

The bad news was that he was not able to fix it.  He explained that the part was no longer available and that to rebuild it would cost as much as a new dishwasher.  Boo!

We then had a brief conversation to lament that things are not built to last and then we blamed the younger generation for expecting electronics to be disposal instead of reparable.  Alas and alack.

Then James and the other guy moved on to the clothes dryer.  As soon as they removed the front panel, I heard exclamations of amazement and alarm and incredulity.  Then they called me in to see the fire hazard that blanketed the interior of my machine.

You could see where part of the linty layer had smoldered into a black patch of doom.

It was pretty scary, actually.  That was what I smelled when I smelled the scent of smoke in my laundry room last week.

When they pulled the top of the machine off and looked inside, it was even more impressive and alarming.

They cleaned out the whole machine and said I was lucky that we hadn’t had a fire.  They told me this was not just build-up from the three years we’ve been here but from way before that.

Here’s the moral of the story:  Get someone handy to open up your clothes dryer so you can vacuum it clean or . . . if you are unhandy like some of us, hire someone.  It cost me less than a hundred dollars and kept my family’s underpants from going up in flames.

I went to bed last night way after midnight and then a text message woke me at 6:24 AM.  Because of that text message, I had to work from 9 AM to 5 PM today . . . and then my usual shift from 9 PM to midnight. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s eleven hours of work.

And then, because we have a meeting with a teacher at 8:30 AM tomorrow, my daughter and I spent two hours organizing her schoolwork and preparing.

I consoled myself with the reminder that I only have seven more years until my youngest child is done with school.  That’s really not all that comforting, but considering I’ve been parenting school-aged kids for fifteen years so far, that seemed some consolation. Just how much longer will I have to know how to divide fractions and how to recognize a direct object or subject complement?

Seven years will pass in the blink of an eye, right?  The only problem is that in seven years I’d prefer to be about . . . oh, say 35, but instead I’ll be approaching sixty.  Why can’t the kids grow up and leave me the same age?

Anyway, the main excitement in my life today involved the arrival of the dryer vent guy, a super nice man who told me he’s been married for twenty years–and we exclaimed over how quickly the years pass.  He and his team used drills and tubing and, for all I know, sorcery to clean out the dryer lint lurking in my walls.

When this house was built, some genius thought it was a good idea for the dryer vent to go up through the wall, then around a corner, then across the span of the garage, then around another corner and then finally, out of the house.  Everyone knows that a dryer vent is supposed to be straight so that the dryer lint doesn’t accumulate, right?

Anyway, so I was mortified when I saw the clumps of lint–a veritable blizzard of dryer lint–piling up under the outside vent.  Pure shame, as if I were the idiot who designed the flawed system.  You practically needed a shovel to scoop it up–but they used a vacuum cleaner.

So, let the laundry resume.

Hooray.

 

We were late to church today.  That’s nothing new.  One of my kids absolutely cannot manage to get ready on time.  I try to keep this in perspective.  For instance, he is GOING to church.  That’s something.

After church, we went directly to a hair salon for haircuts for two of my boys.  Is there anything more boring than waiting for someone to get a haircut?  I think not.

We picked up lunch on the way home and then before I could doze off, I left the house again with my daughter to buy shoes.

Here’s the problem with having an 11-year old daughter.  Her feet are still growing and so the shoes I bought last Easter don’t fit this year at Christmas.  And the shoes I buy for Christmas will likely not fit at Easter.  And because we live in southern California, “fancy” shoes aren’t worn very often and I don’t want to spend a fortune on them.

Anyway, her “fancy” shoes don’t fit any more and we have a Christmas brunch to attend next weekend, so she needed shoes.  We went to my favorite shoe store (Famous Footwear).  I brought along two “rewards” cards that were coupons for a total of $20.  Today was also buy-one-get-one-half-off with an additional twenty percent off after that.

We shopped the Clearance racks and found a pair of dress shoes (white or cream, we couldn’t tell–and really, probably off-season but it could be seventy degrees next weekend, so who cares?) and a pair of RocketDog flip-flops (so cute).

The total for both pairs of shoes, including tax was $3.88.

That would be my best shoe buy ever except that once I paid zero dollars for a pair of flats at Famous Footwear.  (They were $5 and I had a $5 coupon.)

Anyway, I love a bargain.

When we got home, I put our Christmas tree together.  Fortunately, last year I’d purchased additional white twinkly lights to supplement the pre-lit branches because last year some of the branches didn’t light up.  Last year it was extremely frustrating to discover that fact but this year, I knew it would happen so when sections stayed dark, I shrugged and fixed the problem without losing my mind. (I hope I get bonus points for that.)

My daughter and youngest son put on all the ornaments while the dog frolicked around barking her fool head off at us.  She’s not had a walk for a few days because we noticed her limping and decided to try to restrict her activity to hopefully clear up that problem.  So she is extra feisty.

I wandered the house with various decorations, looking for good spots to place them.  I almost finished but not quite.  Tomorrow I’ll either put the rest of the things up or I’ll put them away.  I did note that we still have both Baby Jesus and the spare Baby Jesus which made me smile.

Finally, it was time for a nap, a viewing of The Amazing Race and then work.  I just finished making my son’s lunch and now it’s 2:00 AM and time for sleep.

And now, I brace myself for an extra busy week which includes not only a year-end dentist appointment for three of us (yuck) but also a Christmas concert, soccer tournament, and Christmas brunch in addition to all the regular craziness.

 

So, this is the end of November.  I did my best to blog every day this month . . . and I think I’ll continue my efforts even though some of my attempts are pathetic.  (I participated in NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month.)

When I started this blog ten years ago, it was just to share my daily life with a few friends.  For awhile, a lot of people I didn’t know were reading here and leaving comments (those were the days!) but now, we’re back down to just a few of us.  I am so glad that I’ve been blogging here for ten years, though.  I could never remember all the stories and thoughts I’ve recorded here.

In the past ten years, blogging has become more about marketing and branding and advertising.  Bloggers promote themselves and their books and their projects.  They jostle for attention and compete for sponsorships and free stuff to review.  People know what a “blog” is.  (When I started blogging, most people had no idea what that even meant.)

I was in the crowd at one point, even blogging professionally for awhile for a company.  Companies sent me products to review and I even got hate mail (a true sign of success, right?).

But now, it’s just me and my keyboard and my life.  So many topics are off-limits.  It’s not like I can discuss my 15-year old son’s exploits or my 20-year old twins’ jobs or my 11-year old’s moods.  I am aware of their need for privacy.  I know it’s inappropriate for me to tell the stories that don’t belong fully to me.

Blogging is crowded now with some thirty-one million bloggers in the U.S. (according to some statistics).  I am a quiet voice in a sea of shouters.  I’m not the kind of person to shove to the front of the crowd.  I don’t like to draw attention to myself.

I do like to be heard, though.  I love to tell stories.  I like to recount situations that made me laugh or cry.  And I’m devoted to remembering these days, even if I have to edit myself before clicking “Publish.”  (I wish I didn’t have to edit myself at all, ever, but I’m a realist.)  I am writing for an audience of one, really:  myself.  (Clearly, I am no marketing genius and I have no interest in building my “platform.”)

*

In other news, I realized last night that my clothes dryer was not doing its job.  The broken clothes dryer joins the broken dishwasher in refusing to work.  The appliance repair-guy should be here on Tuesday.

In the meantime, my house is covered in damp but clean clothing.  It looks like we’re building crazy cat-sized forts out of clean shirts and pants and bath towels.

And with that, I bid November 2013 farewell.  Seems like you just got here!

 

Five years ago. Kindergarten.
Five years from now? Sixteen.

I’m guessing she won’t be dressing up as a pilgrim then.

While we waited for the parade at Disneyland on Tuesday, this family walked past us and then sat nearby.

They had three kids and all five of the family members wore The Incredibles costumes.

I tried to imagine growing up in a family where the mom and dad would wear whimsical costumes while spending the whole day at Disneyland.  What a hilarious family!  Are they as fun-loving as they appeared to me?

I don’t know but I like to think that they laugh and frolic all day long.

Just seeing them made me happy, so I surreptitiously took a photo while watching the parade.

And see that purple balloon?  It belonged to a child whose mother plopped herself into my personal space–without asking, really.  That balloon kept bopping me in the head.

*

Yesterday is a blur.

*

Today we slept in (glory to God in the Highest) and then I began cooking.  I left dirty dishes in the sink last night–uncharacteristically for me on the night before Thanksgiving–and so my work was cut out for me.

I didn’t even have a schedule planned, though I did have the foresight to actually purchase ingredients.  So, there’s that.

I got my 22 pound turkey in the oven by 10:40 AM and then began washing dishes and prepping side dishes while my daughter chattered incessantly and the Thanksgiving Day parade played on the television sitting on my kitchen counter.  (I can’t even describe how much I love having a television in my kitchen.  The previous owners of our house left it for us.)

I methodically prepared each dish:  stuffing, corn souffle’, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes and Crescent rolls from the can.  I cleaned up as I went and by 2:45 PM we were sitting and eating dinner.

And while I sat at the table with my four kids and husband I was sincerely so grateful for a peaceful household.  We went around the circle and talked about what we were thankful for and I actually think each of the kids meant what they said.  You know?  Sometimes it seems like they just recite what they think we want to hear.

Anyway, all that cooking and twenty minutes later it was time to put away leftovers and wash dishes.

Then, finally, a nap!   And not just a nap but the kind of nap you can’t rouse yourself from, the kind of nap that finds you drooling on your pillow.  (Or maybe that’s just me.  Don’t look at me like that!)

Now, I hear Christmas knocking at the door–not just knocking, but yelling and ringing the doorbell and banging on the door–and I just wish we could slow it down.  I’m not ready to drag out the Christmas decorations and put up the Christmas tree.  But I know it’s better to do it sooner rather than later.

Tonight, though–after all the cooking, the eating, the napping and even the working (on a holiday!) I just wish an elf or someone would do all the Christmas work.

Maybe I just need to find my inner Incredible and one of those red costumes.

 

At Disneyland, while you are watching people walk by as you wait for a parade to begin and someone yells to his friend, “Hey Marco!” . . . instinctively call out, “POLO!”

Then laugh and laugh and laugh at your own joke while your kid rolls her eyes.

More tomorrow.  We left home at 7:10 AM and returned home at 12:50 AM.  I’m utterly exhausted.

We are heading to Disneyland tomorrow.  We live only a little more than an hour from the Happiest Place on Earth and furthermore, we get to drive in the carpool lane almost the whole way there.

I’ll be back with a fresh collection of photos.

We plan to leave at 7 AM and stay until the park closes at midnight.

I have packed ibuprofen and will be wearing sensible shoes (hot pink running shoes though I do not run unless being chased by snarling pumas). I’m bringing protein bars for my daughter who will be starving as soon as we get there and a bottle of water because she’ll be dying of thirst.

Now, though, I am rushing to bed so I can get almost-enough sleep to last through the whole day of fun and frivolity.

 

The kids have a whole week without school.  I am super excited by this because my daughter does school at home and that means I do school at home and frankly, I’m tired of fractions.  Well, actually, I love working with fractions but it’s agony helping someone else who is 11-years old work with fractions.  I’m tired of school at home in general.

I’m mostly excited though because I had fooled myself into thinking I could sleep in this week but already that fantasy has disintegrated.  Tomorrow my daughter is going ice-skating with a friend.  I have to wake up somewhat early and deliver her by 9:45 AM.

Then on Tuesday, we’re going to Disneyland and, as is our habit, we plan to be there when it opens–at about 8 AM.  That means we’ll be leaving by 7 AM (at least) and since the park closes at midnight, we will probably stay until midnight because we are party animals.  (And by “we”, I mean my 15-year old, his friend, my 11-year old and me.)  I will catch up on my sleep when I’m living in a nursing home.

That brings us to Wednesday.  I might be sleeping in that day!

Thursday . . . cooking.

Friday . . . sleeping?  Well, see, now it seems better, like I might be sleeping in at some point this week.

*

Today I bought my turkey and ingredients to bake four pies because pie consensus does not exist in my family.  Weirdly, there weren’t all that meany people grocery shopping at Ralph’s.  Maybe they were all at Costco buying pre-made pumpkin pies.

At my house there will be a 2/3 ratio of pies to people.  (If my fractions are correct.  I cannot guarantee that.)

Coconut cream.

Pumpkin.

Pecan.

S’mores.  (Sort of.  It’s a long story but the pie involves marshmallows, chopped up Hershey’s bars, cream, and a graham cracker crust.)

Mmmmm.  Pie.

I slept in.

I walked the dog.

I took my daughter to lunch at Rubio’s.

I dropped off my daughter and picked up my husband and son.

We dropped off our son at work.

We went to a movie.  (Captain Phillips, very good.)

We bought cupcakes.

Every place I drove today, I noticed how beautiful the clouds were.  They were the type of clouds artists paint.  And when we were heading home from the movie, I noticed the sun sliding down the sky in a patchwork of clouds.  I suspected the sunset would be beautiful.

I told my husband that I wanted to go see the sunset.

So we dropped off cupcakes, picked up our daughter and raced to the beach.

The rest of this story can be told in photos.